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Saturday, May 2, 2015

2 May - Blogs I'm Following

To kick start Jewish Heritage Month, which takes place the entire month of May each year, President Obama proclaimed that Jews living in America *still* face bigotry and persecution, despite the fact that they openly own and control the mass media, Hollywood, federal government, Wall Street, and Federal Reserve System. He also once again affirmed his government's commitment to combating "anti-Semitism" and "Holocaust denial" while professing his unwavering support for Israel and the Jewish people, *The Times of Israel* reports. How many times do we have to hear the same pathetic tal...more »

“Our immediate threats are terrorism, particularly from global jihadist groups that want to attack the United States. It is a constant danger." Michael G. Vickers Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times *New York Times: **A Secret Warrior Leaves the Pentagon as Quietly as He Entered* *WASHINGTON — ASKED what he is looking forward to, Michael G. Vickers, who retired this week as under secretary of defense for intelligence, answered without hesitation: “Sleeping.”Having participated in virtually every significant global crisis of the past four decades, either as a supporting playe...more »

*Zero Hedge*: *What Does Putin Want?* *Via TheFallingDarkness.com*, *Foreword by the Saker:* *The analysis below is, by far, the best I have seen since the beginning of the conflict in the Ukraine. I have regularly posted analyses by Ishchenko on this blog before, because I considered him as one of the best analysts in Russia. This time, however, Ishchenko has truly produced a masterpiece: a comprehensive analysis of the geostrategic position of Russia and a clear and, I believe, absolutely accurate analysis of the entire “Putin strategy” for the Ukraine. I have always said tha...more »

*by Ken* Let's say that somebody read you the genuinely lovely description E. L. Doctorow provides for the mother of Daniel, which is to say his fictionalized version of Ethel Rosenberg, from *The Book of Daniel* and invited you to write in response, in 25 minutes -- responding any way you're moved to. I wasn't really thinking about the imminence of Mother's Day and then Father's Day when I did my responding, but I suppose you could make this up into card form for the occasions. *Better Luck Next Time* Nobody tells you, when you're a kid, that your parents don't know what the f...more »

Activist Zachary Murray says police violence is a symptom of a larger problem in Baltimore*.* Cut the Pentagon's budget, and the local police militarization budgets, and there will be all kinds of *$$$ *to do what is most needed across America. Organizers have got to start making these vital connections in their articulation and outrage.

*If it's 3:00, it must be Manchester*: *"Former New York governor George E. Pataki and his wife, Libby, order burritos at a Chipotle in New Hampshire." (*Washington Post* caption)* *" 'I make a joke that every four years, there's the Olympics, there's the World Cup and I come to New Hampshire thinking about running for president,' Pataki told a crowd of 15 people during a speech at a Sea-Doo and snowmobile dealership in Laconia, N.H."* *-- former NY Gov. George Pataki, quoted in* "Would-be presidential candidates test waters with a wink" *" 'Basically, it would be like a monkey fly...more »

Section A has only two stories that caught my attention. One was about the anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, the one theatre of war that was dominated by Canada. And Canada won it. It was an astonishing victory for a small country that, in 1939, had almost no navy at all. I read it because I remembered a neighbourhood kid who died in the sinking of an elderly destroyer named St. Croix, and a teenager from my father's scout troop who came to say goodbye and who let me hold his navy jack knife He came home, badly wounded on D Day when he was blown off the bridge of HMCS Sackv...more »

According to Albuquerque television station KOB-TV, Glenn Dennis died on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. He was the last of the three founding members of the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico. Dennis told researchers in 1989 that while he worked at Ballard’s Funeral Home in Roswell, he was called by an officer at the base who asked if they had any small, children-sized caskets. Later he said he was at the base while the recovery of the alien craft and the bodies of those killed had been brought in. In the back of an ambulance, he saw some strange metallic ...more »

“Big, beautiful NGC 5584 is more that 50,000 light-years across and lies 72 million light-years away toward the constellation Virgo. The winding spiral arms of this gorgeous island universe are loaded with luminous young star clusters and dark dust lanes. Still, for earthbound astronomers NGC 5584 is not just another pretty face-on spiral galaxy. *Click image for larger size.* Home to some 250 Cepheid variable stars and a recent Type Ia supernova explosion, key objects for astronomical distance determinations, NGC 5584 is one of 8 galaxies used in a new study that includes additiona...more »

*"Recipe for Greatness"* by Zane Grey "Recipe for greatness — To bear up under loss, to fight the bitterness of defeat and the weakness of grief, to be victor over anger, to smile when tears are close, to resist evil men and base instincts, to hate hate and to love love, to go on when it would seem good to die, to seek ever after the glory and the dream, to look up with unquenchable faith in something evermore about to be, that is what any man or woman can do, and so be great."

*"I'd Pick More Daisies"* by Don Herold (1953) "Of course, you can't unfry an egg, but there is no law against thinking about it. If I had my life to live over, I would try to make more mistakes. I would relax. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things that I would take seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would go more places. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less bran. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary troubles. You see, I have been one of those fellows who live prudently and sa...more »

"Maybe we accept the dream has become a nightmare. We tell ourselves that reality is better. We convince ourselves it's better that we never dream at all. But, the strongest of us, the most determined of us, holds on to the dream or we find ourselves faced with a fresh dream we never considered. We wake to find ourselves, against all odds... feeling hopeful. And, if we're lucky, we realize in the face of everything, in the face of life- the true dream is being able to dream at all." - "Dr. Meredith Grey", "Grey's Anatomy"

*"Hanging On"* by Chet Raymo "I change the desktop image on my laptop every now and then, generally when I come across a new image I like. In the last year or so you'll remember that I wrote about Caravaggio's "The Rest on the Flight Into Egypt" and Vermeer's "The Milkmaid." Live with an image for a while and it's inevitable that you learn something from it. Here is the painting I've had as my desktop in recent weeks, Winslow Homer's "Snap the Whip", 1872, one of America's sentimental favorites. A simpler, more innocent time. Boys at recess, barefoot in the grass. Hand-me-down clo...more »

*"The Roller Coaster Of Time And Life"* “Life for a punctual person is like a roller coaster. All kinds of things are going to happen to you! Sure, I can see the whole roller coaster you're on. And sure - I could give you a piece of paper that would tell you about every dip and turn, warn you about every bogeyman that was going to pop out at you in the tunnels. But that wouldn't help you any. Because you'd still have to take the roller-coaster ride, I didn't design the roller coaster, I don't own it, and I don't say who rides and who doesn't. I just know what it's shaped like.” - Ku...more »

“Next time you feel fear, either right after a major decision or just before one, it usually means you're exactly where you need to be.” "Nice," The Universe “Thoughts become things... choose the good ones!” www.tut.com

*Original Wisdom* is an unforgettable book. Like all humans, author Robert Wolff was born a wild animal, ready to enjoy a pleasant life, romping around in a tropical wilderness. He grew up in Sumatra, the son of Dutch parents. His father was a doctor. The young lad suffered the misfortune of being educated by the dominant culture. It trained him for an unnatural life of schedules, destinations, and anxiety. His wildness was paved over, and his consciousness became disconnected from All-That-Is. Wolff was interested in healing, and hoped to become a doctor, but World War II in...more »

Time for yet another post about a BBC-hosted election debate (how exciting, eh?) - this time last night's Welsh leaders' debate, hosted by Huw Edwards. Call me easily pleased, but I enjoyed it. There were six politicians involved - For the Welsh Conservatives: Stephen Crabb For Welsh Labour: Owen Smith For the Welsh Liberal Democrats: Kirsty Williams For Plaid Cymru: Leanne Wood For Wales Green Party: Pippa Bartolotti For UKIP Wales: Nathan Gill - and the host was Huw Edwards. As seems to be *de rigueur* these days, the audience played a large part in the debate. Like the *Qu...more »

"Human Nature: What Kind of Creature Are We?" by John Robbins "What can we know? What are we all? Poor silly half-brained things peering out at the infinite, with the aspirations of angels and the instincts of beasts." - Arthur Conan Doyle "These days, many of us tend to think that human nature is inherently competitive and destructive. We hear about “selﬁsh genes,” as if our genetic makeup predetermines that we will be egotistic people and that we will ﬁght with one another. We’re told that our species contains a built-in “killer instinct,” that we are descended from apes who nee...more »

"Cornel's the real thing." - Chris Hedges in "Days of Revolt" Ralph Nader's (@RalphNader) new book, Return to Sender, is must reading for citizens who want to understand what's going on in their names right now in government. (Go to GlobalTradeWatch.org to learn how to fight the fast-tracking of the TPP.) Once again. Is this a joke? Or a very good example of how if U.S. citizens had known

"Equo ne credite, Teucri. Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes." (”Do not trust the Horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts.”) –Virgil, "The Aeneid" *"The Trojan Horses Of Our Demise"* by Former meretricious traveller of the IPC "The Trojan horses of our demise: ignorance, arrogance, violence and greed. If we seek analogies for our financial collapse, Trojan horses are more instructive than horsemen of the apocalypse. The latter may be useful to the Fundies with their tiresome end-time fantasies. The horsemen externalize evil; they are children...more »

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief ...and unspeakable love.” - Washington Irving

*James Conca, Forbes:* *What Does China Have To DO To Become THE World Power?* *Just repeat what America did in the decades following WWII -* *1) install a teraWatt of electricity-generating capacity* *2) construct a manufacturing base that can support the world’s largest economy* *3) develop a robust space program* *4) develop an exceptional intelligence network and community* *5) gain overwhelming economic and political influence over your neighbors, by hook or by crook* *6) build schools, bridges, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure to cover at least 80% of your popula...more »

Ukraine’s is a complex and a multilevel tragedy – as the economy continues to collapse, the Kiev leadership is hell-bent on destroying civil liberties and eliminating dissent. All awhile Washington and its European allies remain largely silent. And the lack of credible Western media coverage is part of the problem. CrossTalking with James Jatras, Mark Sleboda and Domitilla Sagramoso. Prominent American historian Stephen Cohen believes that Ukraine is the epicenter of a global geopolitical transformation, and that the world as it existed before the crisis will never be the same aga...more »

There are many who still believe that those who are in positions of "authority" have something over the rest of us. This is a huge LIE ! It is clear that all man made law is fiction. It is time to take back your own authority, live by Natural Law and say "NO" to all who would attempt to impose their false authority over you.

Risk probability of major nuclear accident to be cut by half (April 16, 201), *The Asahi Shimbun*, http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201504160072 The industry ministry intends to cut the risk probability of a major nuclear accident occurring to once in 80 years, half that of the once-in-40-years rate contrived just after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The industry ministry is a big supporter of nuclear power because it offers a cheap energy option. The risk rate of a nuclear disaster is being revised because nuclear power plants are now only allowed to ope...more »

*National Interest*: *The Russian Army's 5 Most Powerful Weapons of War* *Russia's Army is no joke.The Russian Army is back. Like a bear awakening from hibernation, the Russian Ground Forces are shrugging off decades of neglect with a rearmament program designed to make it once again the most powerful army in Eurasia.Russia’s ten-year armament program, scheduled to run through 2020 at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars, is halfway through. Russian defense spending increased by one-third this year, and should reach $96 billion by 2016.Next week the world will see the fr...more »

On this day a year ago nearly 50 people lost their lives in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa, when a building with anti-Kiev activists inside was set ablaze by neo-Nazis. It's been dubbed the worst tragedy the city has seen since the WWII. This event was largely ignored by western media. The massacre in Odessa should not be forgotten.

I became a cop 20 years ago to help people. I’m trained to run towards problems, not away from them. In California’s 25th Congressional District, and across the country, we have problems that we need to address-- crumbling infrastructure, uncertainty about the future of Social Security and Medicare, non-stop fiscal cliffs from Washington that routinely threaten our economic system. In District 25 we are suffering from the California drought, we have special interests fighting our communities on important environmental issues, and we have veterans coming home to a tough job market ...more »

Finnish Border Guard boats patrol the waters near Helsinki, April 28, 2015. The Finnish military fired on Tuesday handheld underwater depth charges as a warning against a suspected submarine in waters near Helsinki, an incident that comes amid growing military tensions with neighbouring Russia.REUTERS/Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva *Felicity Capon, Newsweek:* *Finnish military preparing 900,000 reservists for 'crisis situation'* *The Finnish Defence Forces are to send letters to all 900,000 of the country's reservists at the beginning of this month, informing them what their role would be...more »

*David Shook, Daily Beast:* *President’s Bid For Third Term Fuels Fear Of Return of Burundi’s Bloody Past* *Hutu militiamen are in Burundi and the president speaks of political opponents lying ‘face down’ on the ground. Is Rwanda’s neighbor facing slipping back into ethnic conflict?* *In Burundi, which most Americans think of as an exotic source of high-end coffee, the announcement from its president that he would seek a third term in violation of the constitution risks undoing a hard-won peace and recovery following the bloody ethnic violence of the 1990s and 2000s.* *Saturday’s...more »

when the shit decision comes down no matter how bad it stinks the master thinks its good and the people and player scurry like ants in a magnifying glass to make this will a fact. This is life from our parents at the first level then our council person leading to the mayor and next our member of regional council who wants to be in the state Assembly or in Canada a MPP After that we have the feds who rule everything because they have our money and tell us how to spend it on their personal shiney things There was a time when leaders could be fallible and cabinet ministers fell on their sw...more »

**I again have been busy with business and personal needs these last few days, and as a result, this blog has fallen again by the wayside... My apologies to my readers, and I do have some catching up on what has been happening around our sick world to do...* In my previous reports about the war for Yemen, I gave my own personal opinion that this battle is about a genocide of innocent people and the fact that it is for geo-political interests of the United States... The fact is that right now the Saudis are still bombing the crap out of that impoverished nation killing thousands of i...more »

*SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015The things you won’t hear on her program:* In our view, it has been one of the biggest media events of the past decade. We refer to the way the stars of our emerging “liberal/progressive” media have ended up behaving like Rush and Sean. We got several doses of this phenomenon on last night’s Maddow show. Eventually, the transcript of the program will turn up here. Midway through the program, Maddow’s treatment of yesterday’s “Bridgegate” indictments was the usual clown show. For today, consider what she had to say about the indictments in Baltimore. Maddow ...more »

This is one more proof that the UN is the springboard of Malthusian eco-socialism and global central planning. This lady is the Exec. Secretary of the UN FCCC, the club of governments to "save the planet." Story from Jews News, April 27, 2915. For the UN, more people = more energy demand = more CO2 emission = more "man-made" climate change. Therefore, to "fight CC", the planet should have less CO2 emission, less power plants (mostly from fossil fuels), less people. *Ang galing ano.* One more reason why the UN should shrink. Its top bureaucracy are becoming explicit eco-socialists....more »

I know I've been rough on CNN's coverage of the Baltimore protests, but even the corporate media may, at long last, be seeing the light. One of its reporters finally spoke truth to power last night. When police physically prevented Miguel Marquez from interviewing a demonstrator and "kettled" him and other journalists behind barricades (presumably to prevent filming of police beatings and arrests), Marquez said, “It is shocking that in a city like this that it would come to this. I think that the First Amendment and the Constitution still applies in Baltimore.” But then Don Lemon...more »

*HELLSTORM - Official Website* *This documentary tells the tale that the victors still do not want you to know. Learn the terrible truth about the rape, torture, slavery, and mass murder inflicted upon the German people by the Allied victors of World Word II. This is the biggest cover-up in world history. Buy the book here.*

A member of the Taliban and other people stand at the site during the execution of three men in Ghazni Province April 18, 2015. Photo: Reuters *The Guardian*: *Taliban and Afghan officials hold 'reconciliation' talks in Qatar* *Both sides in ongoing conflict seek to downplay any expectations of official negotiations or peace coming from Doha talks* *Afghan and Taliban officials will hold two days of “reconciliation” talks in Qatar, the Gulf country’s state news agency has reported, although both sides have sought to downplay expectations from the meeting.* *QNA did not identify t...more »

I was cited in “George W. Bush’s advice to Obama on ISIS: ‘You kill ‘em,’” by Zack Beauchamp for Vox, "ISIL's Small Ball Warfare: An Effective Way To Get Back Into A Ballgame," by Craig Whiteside at War On The Rocks, and "The Cult of the Offensive: The Islamic State on Defense," by Alexandre Mello and Michael Knights for the CTC Sentinel.

Travel ban: As Americans remain standed, The State Department said it had sent out countless warnings for Americans to avoid the region which it states many Americans with family connections to Yemen have ignored *Daily Mail:* *Hundreds of Americans are trapped in Yemen because the US government refuses to rescue them because it's 'too risky'* ** U.S. officials said rescuing the Americans could put the military in danger* ** There are fears that al-Qaeda could stage an attack on U.S. personnel* ** Americans are being given access to information on a website* ** The State Department s...more »

*“Your Radiation This Week”* by Bob Nichols “Good Day, this is “Your Radiation This Week.” These are the recorded Radiation Highs that affected people this week around the United States and in your neighborhood. Let’s get right to it. *RADIATION CPM CITY STATE* Listed in Counts per Minute, a Count is One Radioactive Decay Registered by the Instrument. 50 CPM is an Alert Level 302 CPM Boston, MA 193 CPM New York City 443 CPM Raleigh, NC 284 CPM Atlanta, GA 484 CPM Miami, FL 188 CPM Chicago, IL 387 CPM Ft Wayne, IN Gamma and Beta Radiation Combined CPM. 189 CPM St Pau...more »

Dees Illustration By John W. Whitehead In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so tha...more »

By Chris Duane Orioles Executive Vice President John Angelos, son of majority owner Peter Angelos, wrote an amazing essay addressing the Baltimore riots where he lays the blame squarely at the feet of government. The original message was quickly culled from the Internet, but it's the Internet.... Visit SilverShieldXchange.com *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

By Tom Woods Tom Woods and famed investor Doug Casey are interviewed on the McQuistion PBS program about anarchism and the state. Great discussion. Visit TomWoods.com See Tom Woods' books here. *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

By Luke Rudkowski Reporter Luke Rudkowski braves the Baltimore riots (without any bodyguards) in order to confront CNN's Anderson Cooper about his CIA past. Anderson attempts to hide behind several bodyguards and then retreats to a vehicle to avoid Luke's questioning. Visit WeAreChange.org *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

*Farzin Nadimi, Washington Institute for Near East Policy*: *Iran and Saudi Arabia Are on a Collision Course* *To prevent recent airline and shipping incidents from escalating into a wider military confrontation with Iran, all sides will need to exercise great caution in the Persian Gulf and the skies over Yemen.* *On April 28, Saudi-led coalition aircraft bombed runways at Yemen's al-Rahaba Airport to prevent an Iranian Airbus A310 plane from landing there. The Sana airport is currently controlled by Houthi/Zaidi forces with close ties to Shiite Iran, and the plane belonged to M...more »

*William M. Arkin, Phase Zero:* *The Secret Mountain Our Spies Will Hide In When Washington Is Destroyed* *It’s after midnight. From this mountaintop perch, he can still see the radioactive remains of what used to be Washington, D.C., illuminating the horizon as he exits the helicopter. The nuclear glow serves as stark proof that the intelligence community failed to foresee and prevent the worst, but at least someone was smart enough to build this mountain bunker in rural Virginia for him and his fellow spies to regroup and survive. He opens the reinforced steel door and begins hi...more »

By Brandon Turbeville The recent death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray at the hands of police in Baltimore, MD has now been added to the long list of American citizens murdered by the law enforcement community. Video footage of Gray’s arrest alone is cause enough for anger but his subsequent death after wounds inflicted by police – while not on video – are an atrocious case of neglect at best and outright torture and murder at worst. Given the track record of the US law enforcement community and the history of Baltimore’s policing in general, the latter is the most likely scenario. T...more »

By Institute For Justice Lyndon McLellan has spent more than a decade running L&M Convenience Mart, a gas station, restaurant, and convenience store in rural Fairmont, North Carolina. Then, one year ago, without any warning, agents from the IRS seized his entire bank account, totaling more than $107,000. See full story HERE *Get truth delivered to your inbox every week.* Subscribe to GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING by Email

Ghoulish anti-Choice fanatics Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) Late Thursday night, as midnight approached, House Republicans called a vote on Tennessee reactionary Diane Black's HJ Res 43. The resolution, which had 47 Republican cosponsors plus one putative Democrat (far right Blue Dog Dan Lipinski from Chicago), states that "Congress disapproves the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-593), signed by the Mayor of the District on January 25, 2015." It passed 228-192. What wa...more »

First lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama are greeted by King Salman as they arrive in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 27. Reuters *Aaron David Miller, Wall Street Journal*: *Why U.S. Allies Saudi Arabia and Israel Are Looking Beyond Obama* *As changes unfold in Saudi Arabia and Israel, it increasingly appears that Jerusalem and Riyadh may be looking beyond this administration. (We don’t care about Obama; we care about Washington, former Saudi diplomat Abdullah al-Shammari was recently quoted as saying.) It’s ironic that as the Middle East devolves and the U.S. needs frie...more »

By Michael Snyder If the U.S. economy really is improving, then why are big U.S. retailers permanently shutting down thousands of stores? The “retail apocalypse” that I have written about so frequently appears to be accelerating. As you will see below, major U.S. retailers have announced that they are closing more than 6,000 locations, but economic conditions in this country are still fairly stable. So if this is happening already, what are things going to look like once the next recession strikes? For a long time, I have been pointing to 2015 as a major “turning point” for the ...more »

http://www.westernpest.com/ The Crown Prosecutor at the Duffy trial says that he wants to see the errant senator judged on the basis of "common sense." It's a strange argument, Michael Harris writes: Common sense helps people quickly navigate the simpler elements of their lives — crossing a road without getting hit, not texting while driving, turning down the music when those not at the party are trying to sleep. Common sense is almost always about little things, simple things. And the foundation of knowledge upon which it rests is ofte...more »

*All News PipeLine* *May 1, 2015 * Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Constitutional Sheriff Issues Dire Warning To America! [image: mayday.jpeg] [image: lewsi.jpeg]*By Stefan Stanford - All News Pipeline - Live Free Or Die* *Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications.* * It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by mariners and aviators, but in some countries local organizations such as police forces, firefighters, and transportation organizations also use the term.* With the national Ad Council ...more »

*Wall Street Journal:* *Five Years After First Bailout, Greece Back on the Brink* *Athens and its creditors reach another impasse, with time running out to avoid bankruptcy* *ATHENS—Five years into the biggest bailout of a debtor in history, Greece is closer to the brink than ever, with time running out to avert a bankruptcy that could destabilize not only the eurozone, but the global economy as well.* *When Europe and the International Monetary Fund first agreed to bail Greece out on May 2, 2010, the plan was to return Greece to growth and bond markets within three years.* ...more »

*AraNews:* *ISIS militants execute 600 Yezidis northern Iraq* *Erbil, Kurdistan Region – On Friday the so-called Sharia Court of the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS) reportedly executed 600 hostages from the Yezidi community of Shingal (Sinjar) in the Talafar district in northern Iraq. The group piled the bodies into the well of Alo Antar on al-Ayyadiya highway, local sources reported.Shahin Shingali, a fighter in the ranks of the Peshmerga forces, stated to ARA News that since Friday the IS radicals transferred nearly 700 Yezidi hostages to Talafar.* *WNU Editor:* There has been...more »

U.S. Reaper drones at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. One is armed with two 500-lb bombs. Source: GlobalPost *Washington Post Editorial:* *Drone strikes are bad; no drone strikes would be worse* *AT A time when Islamic jihadism has become a major threat in at least half a dozen countries, it’s important to acknowledge that the group that has posed the greatest threat to Americans and the U.S. homeland — the original al-Qaeda affiliate in Pakistan — has been devastated. By all accounts, U.S. counterterrorism actions — above all drone strikes — have eliminated several generation...more »

In three days Albertans go to the polls. Here's how that's looking as of yesterday according to 308 : As part of his election platform, Calgary-Klein Green Party candidate Noel Keough made a great case for raising corporate taxes in Alberta - the lowest in the country - by just 2% in order to raise $12-billion annually for Alberta's decimated public coffers : An environmental design prof at the University of Calgary, he also put forward solid policy on fossil fuels and advocates a PropRep voting system replacing first-past-the post - the better to more fairly represent Alberta...more »

*New NAEP Scores Show America’s Schools Still Failing* The latest 8th grade U.S. history, civics, and geography results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), released Wednesday, April 29, showed no significant change from the last assessment in 2010. For 2014, the NAEP scores show only 18 percent of students scored proficient in U.S. history, 23 percent in civics, and 27 percent in geography. Neal McCluskey, associate director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom describes the NAEP scores released today as “bleak.” “The scores weren’t part...more »

[image: Anthony Patch] Anthony Patch *Published on Apr 29, 2015* *[ I feel that the info in this short video is very important information to consider . . it is included in a brief Playlist that you may want to continue watching . . ] *

*A foolish Pope?* *Excerpt from a report below on a projected Papal encyclical on global warming. If expectations are correct it will make old Frank a very foolish Pope indeed. From encyclicals *De rerum novarum* to *Centesimus Annus* (and, Yes, I have read both of them) Popes have always trod a middle way between Left and Right. Even *Brennender Sorge * can be read that way. And for a church that claims universality, that is the only prudent path. Times change and hitching your wagon to ANY current enthusiasm is likely to make you look ridiculous in the long run. Redemption i...more »

*Connecting The Pieces* 24.04.2015 Jay Johnson *In his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins pulls back the curtain to reveal how exactly the globalization machinery works. The signing of the TTIP and TPP treaties create the framework for a one world government.* Gone are the days of freedom and democracy as the American oligarchy have created the conditions for the rise of worldwide corporatocracy. According to some academics, the world is in the third stage of globalization. In a lecture presented at Auburn University, the first stage of globalization was the...more »

*Video - *The eyes are one of the most sensitive and intelligent parts of the body. Yoga expert Usha Chengappa demonstrates some asanas, or yoga postures, which will benefit your eyes. The post Yoga for Healthy Eyes appeared first on Waking Times.

[image: Pilots in an airplane cockpit via Shutterstock*] First it can be done already. Next, it is happening sooner than we think. All objections disappear because the pilot remains in full capacity at all times. He is not on a simulator but is handling a terminal of a data link. Better yet additional skills are immediately available to him. He is even well rested with natural breaks built in. This vastly improves the odds of saving a plane when an emergency hits. Actual on board flight crew can even be trained well on implementing emergency procedures including engineerin...more »

[image: The Union Square farmer's market in Manhattan, New York, on Sept. 22, 2014. Sales of organic food products reached a new high in 2014, totaling $35.9 billion. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)] I have no doubt that organic food will dominate inside of twenty years and that will be just about as fast as is possible. I though at least twice that length of time, but the news is increasingly bad for GMO. That is going to die now in a rout. The public is aware and unsupported lying is no longer enough. Add in the increasing need for true sustainability and soon real social change ...more »

These types of reports have come in for decades and were first truly investigated in their own right by Charles fort.. He was quite right to do so and explanations remain unsatisfactory. We do observes a little commonality in that they appear associated with rainfall and been sourced from moist conditions. Yet size and mass does not appear as important as it should either. I have projected slime mold bubbles and that continues to look promising as it can certainly start off adhering to a pond surface allowing it to become loaded with creatures and even debris. ...more »

This provides a glimpse into just how hard it is to get a handle on surrounding star movements and real distances. I think we can do a lot better now that simulation matrices can be made dense enough to do millions of calculations using parallax. If we do thousands of calculations along Earth's orbit, it should be possible to establish a second level effect related to the tilt of the orbital plane. This should vary in a way related to the relative velocities of the two suns. It will be a very small effect, but then our accuracy may well be up to making it eff...more »

[image: Mystery Sealand Skull, Real or Fake?] There has been a sudden burst of interest again in the Sealand skull which got our attention five years ago. the following pretty well shows us that nothing has actually changed and it appears no further science has been funded. Of course, ignorant naysayers have also put about the lie that it was proven to be a fraud. That folks costs money. In fact a large number of anomalous artifacts have all suffered the same problem. however good the case, no money is made available to do real science. This is frustrating and i know that is...more »

[image: http://www.wakingtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Coyote.jpg] This is really interesting about how the coyotes controls its own population. How valid is another matter but it is also promising and supports the coyote becoming our climax predator in human inhabited lands. At best the coyote is a low threat to people. That is not so with wolves, or cougars which both need careful watching and actual containment. They also control the population of other carnivores as well and that includes dogs. Their presence in Vancouver means few wild rabbits or cats or raccoons...more »

[image: http://www.wakingtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/monsanto-corp.jpg] The agitation keeps climbing against the business practices of Monsanto. Yet it is still not entirely mainstream either. More to the point though is that the market is steadily sorting this all out. The organic premium will not go away and that means slowly but surely we will reach a tipping point where the critical mass of organic production begins forcing its way into targeted geographies through farmer consortiums. The trend is not going away nor will it easily accelerate either. Yet it must...more »

This is brilliant. Having banks of cold callers contacting those paid to handle prisoners of conscience to ask them to quit the party lets them know that they are been watched and that they can quit. That is much more than NAZI prison guards could do in the death camps. So you ask them and in the process you reach out to them to help them escape it as well. Better, the Party cannot cut off phone access without admitting something must be hidden. In the meantime, disclosure is taking place and the public is applying heat. The pressure has been ratchited up. Will it end soon?...more »

The real bottom line is that irrigation must become sustainable. That is likely impossible with alfalfa but also plausible with almonds. I personally think it can be done by lowering the per acre loading and introducing ample atmospheric irrigation and smart co cropping. Done well and you will justify your own bees as well. If such a solution is impossible than face the reality that this land is unsuitable. Yet i think it can work. I do think atmospheric irrigation is a natural for the Great Valley. *Here's the Real Problem With Almonds* *The nut apologists missed some im...more »

This stacks up the data for the 1159 BC collapse that took out the European Bronze Age and the Atlantean World culture of which we see bits around the world. I can be more precise because we have Irish tree ring data and we ourselves have come to understand the full extent of the geological calamity itself. It include Hekla erupting and shutting down European agriculture for a generation. That is the least we know. I have also added crustal subsidence offsetting the Hudson Bay rebound. This subsidence affected the Mid Atlantic ridge (Lyonese, Iceland, the Azores) and the Bah...more »

There has drifted into so called New Age thinking a meme that suggests that somehow or the other that the physical universe we experience can somehow shift 'dimension' Yet no one actually defines 'dimension. Dimension means something very rigorous to a mathematician and i want to state that having derived the first action in a three dimensional space and understanding that ongoing creation from the first movement is a rigorous way to understand time itself, it becomes clear that New Age usage is terribly misleading because it suggest that our physical rules can change. Wh...more »

[image: glorious-war.jpg] This book is an enjoyable read to fill in the blanks of Custer's amazing contribution as a true cavalier in the Civil War. It is astonishing that he survived. Yet he was a master of tactics and applying shock and weight on a battlefield which only cavalry can do. That he did it so consistentlyv and so successfully for so long was the reason he rose in four years from lieutenant to Major General. Yet every cavalier is truly running the odds against the day when shock and speed is not good enough and numbers overwhelm you. That happened to Custer at t...more »

[image: Scorpion tactical jet]US defence secretary Ashton Carter's two-day visit to India in early June is expected to raise the levels of bilateral strategic and defence co-operation between the two countries, senior Indian military officials have told IHS Jane's . Carter will sign a 10-year India-US Defence Framework Agreement and fast-track the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI), under which the two countries will co-develop and co-produce military equipment in India. Industry sources said that under the DTTI, which Carter initiated as deputy defence secretary in 201...more »

[image: AS532 Cougar]Three soldiers were killed Friday in the western Mexican state of Jalisco when shots fired by armed assailants brought down their helicopter, while three other troops are reported missing, authorities said. The soldiers, who were on an aerial reconnaissance mission, came under attack when they spotted a group of vehicles carrying armed individuals on a road linking the towns of Casimiro Castillo and Villa Purificacion, the Defense Secretariat said in a statement. Gunshots struck the Cougar chopper and forced the soldiers to make an emergency landing, an attack ...more »

[image: AH-1W Super Cobra]The number of helicopters flying in and out of Robins Air Force Base is increasing. The Marine Aircraft Group at Robins will add three more to its fleet of UH-1Y Huey and AH-1W Super Cobras for a total of seven helicopters. With the additional aircraft, the Marines will be able to perform more of the mandatory flight times for the active duty and reserve pilots who come to Robins to be trained, said Lt. Col. Philip Eilertson, Marine Aircraft Group 49 Detachment A commanding officer. Read more

[image: X-47B UCLASS]Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) wants to keep the Navy’s two X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrators (UCAS-D) flying instead of sending the two unmanned vehicles to a museum or long term storage, according to a Thursday letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus obtained by USNI News. Last week, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) successfully demonstrated autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) with an unmanned Northrop Grumman X-47B — call sign, Salty Dog 502 — marking the end of the official test program with no planned extension on the horizon. NAVAIR officials ha...more »

[image: Type 052D class DDG]On April 27, satellite images were released which showed that seven Type 052D guided-missile destroyers are being built simultaneously at Shangahi's Jiangnan Shipyard, according to Beijing's Sina Military Network, a Chinese-language website covering defense news around the world. The Type 052D is a modified version of the PLA Navy's Type 052B and Type 052C guided-missile destroyers. It is equipped with an active phased array radar system,vertical launching system and advanced air defense system which its prodecessors don't have. China has already launch...more »

[image: HMCS Iroquois (DDG_280)]A company will be selected by 2017 to design new warships to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s frigates and destroyers, but senior government officials acknowledged Friday they have no idea of the final cost. The project, known as the Canadian Surface Combatant, will see the building of up to 15 ships. At this point, the budget is estimated at $26 billion. Senior government officials said they don’t know what the actual cost will be. Delays in building and inflation could increase costs or decrease the number of ships built. “We’re sensitive to the ri...more »

[image: Cyclone-class PC]The United States will spend $585 billion on its armed forces in 2015 — the biggest military budget in the world by far. That’s just the Defense Department budget and doesn’t include the tens of billions of dollars that Washington spends on veterans, the purview of the Veterans Administration, or nuclear-weapons development, which falls under the Department of Energy. There’s tremendous pressure in Congress to spend less. Though the Pentagon argues vehemently that budget cuts will harm national security, there are some fairly obvious places where defense cu...more »

[image: 3-D lidar scan of the Interstate 510 bridge in New Orleans, La]HELLLOOO! LOOH. Looh. looh. If you have ever heard an echo, you’ll be familiar with the basic principle behind three similar technologies: radar, sonar and lidar. An echo is the reflection of sound waves off of some distant object. If you shout in a canyon, the sound waves travel through the air, bounce off the rocky walls and then come back to you. Sonar (SO-nahr) is the most similar to this scenario. This technology also relies on sound waves to detect objects. However, sonar is typically used underwater. Rea...more »

[image: Type 093 (Shang) class SSN]The United States believes that China has modified at least one of its Type 93 SSN (nuclear attack) submarines so it can more effectively operate in coastal waters and deliver commando teams. The modifications include a miniature sub on deck for landing commandos and other changes to make the sub better able to operate in shallow coastal waters. All this makes sense, as it was obvious early on that the Type 93s were not as effective on the high seas as their designers and builders had hoped. Read more

[image: Astute class SSN]The submarine battle that erupted across the Baltic Sea was about business. The Swedish government, upset with German ownership of Sweden’s biggest shipyard, last summer compelled ThyssenKrupp AG to sell its Kockums operation to Sweden’s Saab AB. The move, which ThyssenKrupp calls “unfair,” cost the German industrial group a billion-dollar submarine contract and hundreds of skilled engineers. And Sweden’s maneuver established defense contractor Saab as a new rival in the global submarine market. ThyssenKrupp, the world’s top nonnuclear-sub maker, already fe...more »

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/03/31/att_gigabit_internet/ *Silicon Valley gets its first 1Gbps home bro– oh, there's a big catch - AT&T is back with its privacy-busting internet connections and high prices* 31 Mar 2015 at 19:15, Shaun Nichols Silicon Valley, or rather a small patch of it, finally has gigabit home broadband – and it's not Google Fiber. And there are two catches. We often rag on AT&T for following Mountain View's advertising giant into markets, but in this case it seems the telco has beaten Google in its own backyard. The phone giant said it will offer its G...more »

*May 2, 2015* (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - There are two kinds of "ambassadors" the US employs across the globe to project its unwarranted power and influence beyond its borders. One is a friendly face covert subversion and manipulation can hide behind, the other is a strong voice that subversion and manipulation can openly rally around. Thailand had previously hosted the wildly unpopular Kristie Kenney, who while serving as US Ambassador to Thailand from 2010 to 2014 feigned profound ignorance to all that unfolded around her, including US-support for the proxy regime of mass murdere...more »

Is Britain's economy in safe hands with the Conservatives? Back in July 2014, the Conservatives celebrated that Britain’s GDP had exceeded the pre-recession peak. Later adjustments by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed it had actually reached this level 9 months earlier, in Q3 2013! How good was that! Actually, much less good than you might think. It’s not just the remarkable

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published at the end of 2014 show: 1) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeded the pre-recession peak in the summer of 2013. By the end of 2014 GDP was 4% above the pre-crash peak in 2007. Yay :) 2) However, much of this growth came from growth in population.GDP per person was actually 1% lower than the pre-crash peak. Oops! 3) Net National

'Pulverized': A ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun like the on North Korean troops are thought to have used to execute people *Daily Mail*: *Satellite images show Kim Jong-un's troops carrying out mass executions using anti-aircraft guns which would leave the bodies 'pulverized' * ** Sickening pictures have been released by Committee for Human Rights* ** Photographs show six anti-aircraft guns used to shoot line of people * ** A viewing platform can be seen set up nearby * ** Expert said to label it 'cruel and unusual punishment' was understatement * *Satellite pictures have revealed Kim Jong-...more »

Taking Back Cinco de Mayo By Roberto Rodriguez (Dr. Cintli) The weekend is coming up and you are looking forward to Cinco de Mayo, but this year, knowing that this is when many people denigrate Mexican people, you are determined not to insult Mexican people. What to do? Here’s a simple guide: #1: Do not attempt to dress up or speak like a Mexican. #2: Do not confuse this day with September 16 or Mexican Independence day. That day celebrates independence from a tyrannical Spain. #3: Do not associate liquor/alcohol with this date and do not call it “Drinko de Mayo.” #4: Do not re...more »

Fighters from Misrata fire weapons at Islamic State militants near Sirte, March 15, 2015. Militants loyal to Islamic State, the group which has seized much of Iraq and Syria, have established a larger presence in central Libya in recent weeks. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic *John Lloyd, Reuters*: *Better the dictator you condemn than the insurgents you can’t control* *President Obama, already musing on failures during his second term, has said he regrets that the U.S. joined a coalition to intervene in Libya in 2011, ousting President Muammar Gaddafi, without an adequate plan for the pos...more »

Image from mod.gov.cn / Li Xiao and Hu Quanfu *Noah Feldman, Bloomberg*:* What Is China's Navy Doing in Mediterranean?* *Why is China announcing joint naval exercises with Russia in the Mediterranean, so far from home? There’s a global answer connected to the new cool war and China’s interest in responding to U.S. initiatives in the Pacific. But there’s also a more revealing local answer arriving from the nature of China’s growing involvement in the Middle East and North Africa.* *The global geopolitical explanation for the exercises, expected this month, is certainly interesting a...more »

*It remains to be seen how badly David Wildstein, who pled guilty today to a menu of federal charges, can hurt his old high school pal, Governor Krispy.* *by Ken* It wasn't a happy day for His Eminence the Rat Bastard Satrap of New Jersey Kris Krispy, which by itself is cause for celebration among decent folk everywhere. Now it wasn't all that bad a day for the Krispyman, since nothing that happened was unexpected, so maybe it's not time for tumultuous singing and dancing in the streets. Still, it can't be a source of comfort for NJ Fats that that altar boy of conventional politi...more »

Saudi King Salman (L) speaks with his delegations during the opening meeting of the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, March 28, 2015. *Voice of America*: *Analysts: Saudi Leadership Changes Signal Bold New Views * *CAIRO — As regional and global alliances shift, Saudi Arabia is shaking up its leadership — ensuring a clear line of succession with younger, more aggressive men hoping to expand the kingdom's regional power as the king nears his 80th birthday.* *As Gulf leaders arrived in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Thursday to prepare for an upcoming summit in the United State...more »

Henry *v.*British Columbia (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 24: [67] Disclosure is one of the Crown's fundamental obligations in a criminal prosecution. The Crown is duty-bound to disclose relevant information to the defence, and this obligation is a continuing one. This stringent and, at times, heavy burden on the Crown guarantees an accused's ability to make full answer and defence. Indeed, this was precisely the reason that the Court affirmed a *constitutional* right to disclosure more than two decades ago in *Stinchcombe*: . . . [t]here is [an] overriding...more »

White Burgess Langille Inman *v. *Abbott and Haliburton Co., 2015 SCC 23 released this week largely rewrites the law on admissibility of expert evidence. The Mohan test is replaced by a two stage test, as from Abbey, and an independence requirement is inserted as a condition precedent to admission: [23] At the first step, the proponent of the evidence must establish the threshold requirements of admissibility. These are the four *Mohan *factors (relevance, necessity, absence of an exclusionary rule and a properly qualified expert) and in addition, in the ...more »

Houthi militants gesture in the yard of the residence of the military commander of the Houthi militant group, Abdullah Yahya al Hakim, after it was hit by an airstrike, in Sanaa April 28, 2015. (File Photo: Reuters) AFP: *Iran arming Yemen's Huthi rebels since 2009* United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Iran has been shipping weapons to Yemen's Huthi rebels since at least 2009, according to a confidential UN report, indicating that Tehran's support dates back to the early years of the Shiite militia's insurgency. The report by a panel of experts was presented to the Security Coun...more »

From *YouTube*: *During the Korean War, a U.S. Marine battalion must fight its way out of a frozen mountain pass despite diminishing supplies, freezing temperatures and constant attacks by overwhelming numbers of Chinese soldiers.*

As we get closer to the reveal of the Not Roswell Slides, Gilles Fernandez posted a note on the last my posting which wasn’t relevant to the topic but that was interesting. Apparently he, and his team of investigators who have been working quietly behind the scenes, have made one discovery that is of importance. Fernandez posted one of the slides to his blog (which is normally written in French but this was in English) that came from the stash of Hilda Blair Ray and showed a scene France. All of this can be seen at: http://skepticversustheflyingsaucers.blogspot.com/ Although they j...more »

*Lina Sinjab, BBC News:* *Syria: How a new rebel unity is making headway against the regime* *At the end of March, Syrian rebels captured the north-western provincial capital of Idlib as government forces fled in the face of a co-ordinated offensive.* *The rebels followed up the victory by taking control of the town of Jisr al-Shughour, several villages and the al-Qarmid military base.* *They have reportedly now set their sights on the neighbouring Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad.* *State media have denied that the rebels are ...more »

This connects a little bit to a post not long ago, by my Canadian bioethics colleague Udo Schuklenk on his *Ethx Blog*, on the topic of conscientious objection in health care. The reason why I have started to think about this is that my country's rapidly shrinking Christian Democrat party has just elected itself a new leader – Ebba Busch Thor (see image to the left) – and the echo of the affirmative acclamation at the party's national congress had barely silenced before she made her first move to plug the many leaks of voters, members and sympathisers by declaring that health care s...more »

“Supergiant star Gamma Cygni lies at the center of the Northern Cross, a famous asterism in the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Known by the proper name Sadr, the bright star also lies at the center of this gorgeous skyscape, featuring a complex of stars, dust clouds, and glowing nebulae along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. *Click image for larger size.* The field of view spans over 3 degrees (six Full Moons) on the sky and includes emission nebula IC 1318 and open star cluster NGC 6910. Left of Gamma Cygni and shaped like two glowing cosmic wings divided by a long dark du...more »

*“The Spark of Life”* by Chet Raymo In a previous post I quoted Teilhard de Chardin referring to the discovery of electromagnetic waves as a "prodigious biological event." A biological event? What could he mean? The universe was awash with electromagnetic waves long before life appeared on Earth, or anywhere else in the universe. The cosmic microwave background radiation- the residue of the big bang- is electromagnetic. Starlight is an electromagnetic wave. You can "discover" electromagnetic waves by opening your eyes. Of course, what Teilhard referred to was the conscious control...more »

RINF, Countercurrents, Global Research https://twitter.com/colin_todhunter Genetically modified (GM) crops are going to feed the world. Not only that, supporters of GM technology say it will produce better yields than non-GM crops, increase farmers’ incomes, lead to less chemical inputs, be better suited to climatic changes, is safe for human consumption and will save the lives of millions. Sections of the pro-GMO lobby are modern-day evangelists who denounce, often with a hefty dose of bigoted zeal, anyone who questions their claims and self-proclaimed humanitarian motives. But the...more »

*“The Joys of Living”* by Orison Swett Marden “Resolve every morning that you will get the most out of that day, not of some day in the future, when you are better off, when you have a family, when your children are grown up, when you have overcome your difficulties. You never will overcome them all. You will never be able to eliminate all the things which annoy, trouble, and cause friction in your life. You will never get rid of all the little enemies of your happiness, the hundred and one little annoyances, but you can make the most of things as they are. The reason why our liv...more »

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." - M. Scott Peck

*"The Second Coming"* *․ * "Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the h...more »

*"A Few End-Of-The -Day Questions"* by Leo Buscaglia “It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely. Asking yourself questions and answering them honestly is a good path to self-knowledge. In keeping with this idea, I'd like to propose a few end-of-the-day questions for each of us... Is anyone a little happier because I came along today? Did I leave any concrete evidence of my kindness, any sign of ...more »

*Logo of the Greek Golden Dawn political party* *by Gaius Publius* I haven't written much about Greece lately, but there's quite a story going on. It's not that difficult to follow, but you have to be careful whom you read. Conventional wisdom (backed by corporate, pro-austerity media outlets here and abroad) says it's a morality tale — bad Greeks who went into too much debt and now they can't pay up. Good German bankers want their money and are reluctant to forgive bad deeds because it might encourage other debt-owing entities to seek relief as well. They're calling that "moral h...more »

*Reflections on my 200th Post* Well, Folks...here I am at my 200th post. At one point, two or more years ago when I started to take blog posting seriously, this would have seemed like a lot of posts to me. Now, looking at all the blogs to the right--on my "favourites Blogroll", it doesn't seem so many. Many of those blogs have thousands of posts to their credit. Still...it's a milestone and an opportunity to step back for a moment to see where I am and where I'm going with this blog. First of all...the understanding of the relationship between...more »

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I've been 'around' for a few years now, pursuing the shifting goal of a sharable home-made surfers resource site focused on ease of use and variety of mostly adult ( whoa : I didn't say prurient ) content.